20-30 minutes is quite a bit I’d say, especially if you don’t mind fairly simple food and even more so if you are happy to do a few hacks like using pre-cooked rice or noodles.
A few from me:
Tacos or burrito bowls – the quickest option for me is to marinate some chicken breasts in a bit of oil, paprika, lime juice, chilli (optional) with a bit of cumin and coriander.
Make a quick salsa – any version you like. I did one this week with plums, chives, fresh coriander and lime juice with a bit of sugar but I usually do chopped red onion, tomatoes and avocado with a bit of lime juice or sherry vinegar and oil and salt. Sometimes I add tinned corn – bonus points if I can char it first but can’t always be bothered.
Fry the chicken breasts and while that’s happening, get out sour cream and grate some cheese.
Then either serve with corn tortillas or in a bowl with rice. If I’m doing rice, I often add a tin of black beans to the rice to up the fibre and nutritional value.
Bake or grill salmon fillets with a quick stir fry usually served with rice noodles (just rehydrated in boiling water or sometimes with quick wok noodles). Or I have been loving the Jamie Oliver one where you marinade the salmon with a mix of miso/lime/sesame and grill it on a bed of green vegetables. He does a quick pickle alongside which I sometimes do and sometimes skip!
Steak ciabattas are popular here – Cook steak, heat ciabatta. While steak cooking, make a quick slaw (usually mayo free with just some cabbage and carrot, bit of lime juice, salt and sugar). While steak rests, cook mushrooms. Pile on ciabatta with a bit of mustard and mayo!
Fajitas are good too – chicken, steak or halloumi usually. I usually just slice peppers and onions and fry those then add a bit of passata and a bunch of spices (or buy a mix), then cook the chicken/steak/halloumi and serve with some avocado, sour cream and grated cheese served on in a wrap. Or a different version which we like is to toss some sliced leeks, tenderstem broccoli, onion or other similar veg (asparagus/cabbage/cavalo nero) with some olive oil and salt and chargrill in a hot pan. Remove then cook slices of halloumi that I’ve sprinked a bit of paprika and cumin on. Just before halloumi is ready, I add some chopped garlic, lemon juice and honey and it all caramalises and then I put the whole lot in a wrap.
Sausages, broken up or roughly chopped make a great quick option as a base for a pasta or gnocchi sauce. My standard quick one is fry the sausage, add fennel, chilli and lemon zest and a handful of chopped tomatoes. Add wine and milk and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas or spinach. Bubble, then stir in some crème fraiche and season with salt/pepper and lemon juice. But you can do anything, or use a tomato base. Or serve it on a jacket potato even.